Documents / Document
This 217-page Project Blue Book desk file on the 24 April 1964 Socorro, New Mexico sighting by policeman Lonnie Zamora comes from the Rob Mercer collection. It contains the Blue Book record card, which carries the case as unidentified pending more data, along with Foreign Technology Division messages and resumes and a narrative of the sighting. It also holds inquiries about lunar modules, helicopters and VTOL craft, soil and radiation findings, and a letter by J. Allen Hynek rejecting Donald Menzel's hoax hypothesis.
( 6) V'roL and lunar !!todules : (a) Personnel working on the development of VTOL type aircraft and lunar modules were consulted. VTOL t;ype a/ c vere not eliminated as a pos sible cause due to the absence of a blast effect in the area. 'lbere are several iypes Of due ted blast devices which \IOUld divert the force of the blast outward. However, they vere not aware of an eperational cratt of this nature. · (b) Innar Module configurations conform not only to the description of the object but also have girder like legs or pods Which would produce markings such as those ·round at Socorro. One knovn experiaental model, constructed by Bell Air- ~ Corporation, is located at Edwards AFB. (7) Additional Witness: The El Defensor and Chie:ftsn of '1\lesday 28 Apr 64 carried an article indicating that an unidentified tourist traveling North on U S 85 sav the UFO just before it landed. He also observed the pollee car heading up the hill tova.rd the spot where the UFO landed. If' this is true, the UFO not only disappeared in the direction of 'White Sand's but also came :from that · same direction. A telephone call to Mr Opal Grinder of Whiting Brothers Service Station indicated that he vas the source for reporting that an unidentified tourist had observed the unidentified :flying object. He verified that the information 1n the news article vas correct. c. General Conclusions to Date: (1) Evaluation of the data contained in the various investigative reports confirms that a sighting definitely did occur. The description of the object and flight characteristics are coincident vith that expected of a helicopter, V'roL or Lunar Module configuration. CUrrent investigative efforts are being made to establish or identity the specif'ic vehicle vhich caused the sighting. '!he following statement by Captain Hector ~intanilla 1"9reaents a statement wich may be released to the press: · . ·•conclusion: '!be investigators at Wright-Patterson have not been able to identify or determine what type of vehicle or object Mr Lonnie Zamora observed on 24 April at Socorro, •ev Mexico. '!be obJect or vehicle displayed :flight cha.racteristics well vi thin the State-of-the-Art and the sighting cannot be attributed to atmospheric or astronomical phenomena. In this respect, I can categorically at.ate that the vehicle or object observed by Mr Lonnie Zamora vas not an inter-planetary space vehicle visiting the planet Earth. ttbis case is still open and the investigation is still in progress. ·· 3 JlRob Mercer
Document, cited by the archive. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 217 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.